they paved paradise

Eventually, everything changes.

For fifteen years I have traveled to Berkley Springs and then, for exercise and peace, found my way through the woods to the top of the mountain that looks down on the Shenandoah River. The forest is full of deer. Tall and stately oak trees are mixed in with the lower climbing sassafras and red bud. Ferns dot the undergrowth and lichen covers the exposed rocks.

Imagine my disappointment - I pull up to the trail head and find a big yellow No Trespassing sign warning me that if I should set foot on this pristine woodland path, I "would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

Joni Mitchell said it all years ago:

"They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know
What you got til its lost...."

Oh yes, I still went on the trail, up to the top of the mountain and yes, the Shenandoah is still there.

Barbara Fritchee

The story goes that at the age of 95, Barbara Fritchee flew the American flag from the attic of her house in Frederick, Maryland.

Alone among all the citizens of Frederick, she was demonstrating her opposition to Confederate General Stonewall Jackson's troops, who were passing through in Lee's Maryland campaign of 1864. The rebel troops shot at the flag and broke the staff....

Quick, as it fell, from the broken staff
Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf.

She leaned far out on the window-sill,
And shook it forth with a royal will.

'Shoot, if you must, this old gray head,
But spare your country's flag,' she said.
A shade of sadness, a blush of shame,
Over the face of the leader came;

The nobler nature within him stirred
To life at that woman's deed and word;

'Who touches a hair of yon gray head
Dies like a dog! March on! he said...

The poem by John Whitleaf Whittier.

traditions furniture - tables and chairs

This rectangular extension table of solid white oak is fit for a feast.




















After you select the right table, you can change its style by changing its edge or legs. The edges add character without adding cost. Most legs are interchangeable without changing a table's price.

The Extra Large Turned and French Regency legs are thicker and carry some additional cost. Our Turned and Tapered legs are also available in counter height. This option will raise the height of a table from 30" to 36".

Click here to see how.

hardwood furniture

About half of Gat Creek Furniture in is built in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. A collection of more than 25 individual workshops – many owned by Amish and Mennonite families – hand builds the remainder in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Delaware.




















Each piece of furniture is made by hand. The artisan signs and dates his or her work. Gat Creek exclusively uses domestic hardwoods - cherry, oak, and walnut, all wood coming from sustainably managed forests.

Gat Creek

The 2009 Annual Homecoming Show for Gat Creek Furniture is being held this week.

Gat Creek features solid handmade furniture from native oak and cherry, with many of the pieces made by Amish and Mennonite craftsmen from Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Some of my favorite things include the solid cherry rectangle table with two leaves that seats eight. This table is available in oak or cherry and with a variety of stain finishes and custom edges and legs.

Gat Creek also hand builds a mission style table and chairs, here shown in a clear unstained oak.

kings of leon

One of the greatest joys of having children is that when they are old enough to apprecitate good music they turn you on to new groups.

My son Will likes the group Kings of Leon and I have to agree. See them on Youtube.

Other favorite group, The Killers. Like the lyrics, check them out.

breaking away

If we are going to talk about racial profiling - white police officer Crowley arrests black professor Gates in his own home - let's also talk about class - working class cop and snobby Harvard professor.

Remember the movie "Breaking Away"? I know it has very little to do with racial profiling. But, then it has everything to do with class consciousness:

"Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his 3 friends, The comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one day, and even takes up the Italian culture, much to his friends and parents annoyance. While meanwhile, the 4 friends try to break away from their townie, Indiana reputation while fighting with nearby college snobs."

Breaking Away

Remember how Dave wants to impress the university coed? How he has to deal with the legacy of being a stone cutter's son, and making dad proud? The point of the movie is that class shouldn't matter.

Before you say that this is a stretch, at least think about your point of view - Judge Sotomayor has a point, remarking in her Senate confirmation hearings, on how her experiences as poor and Hispanic will give her a unique insight into hearing cases on the Supreme Court. We are all biased; it is the legacy of our racial, social, and economic backgrounds.

For police officer Crowley, no man is above the law, neither Harvard professor nor thief, and both should comply with the lawful orders of an officer to produce identification and answer questions. For Professor Gate, his home is his castle; he should be accorded the respect both the humblest and mightiest citizens have a right to regardless of race or class.

As for President Obama, who now finds himself in the middle of a national debate on race, I suggest that when he gets the two parties together for a beer, his idea, he also screens for them the movie "Breaking Away" so that they can all think about social arrogance as much as racial arrogance. By the way, what kind of beer do they drink in Boston?